It’s “501” Somewhere

During season, the clock striking 5:01 PM on the first Friday of the month is the perfect excuse for neighbors in one Marco Island neighborhood to gather for cocktails, food and fellowship. 

The tradition was started in 2017 by part-time residents Bob and Jill Young, who spend the summer months at their home in western Illinois, which is where the idea originated. 

“There was a bunch of couples on Friday evening wanting to get together after work,” Bob Young says. “We worked till five then met at a local bar at 5:01. So, we named it the 501 Club. We’d get two or three big tables and between eight and twenty people showed up each week.” 

When the Youngs bought a home in a neighborhood bordering Landmark Bay on Marco, they decided to start a 501 Club as a way to meet new friends. “We had nothing in the house but a mattress and some necessities” which included a computer and printer, Young says. “I looked at Jill and said, ‘My God. We don’t know a soul down here.’” 

Young says he printed flyers inviting neighbors to the inaugural 501 Club and his wife Jill distributed them throughout the neighborhood.  

“She walked up and down the street knocking on doors,” Young says. “The flyer said we were having this 501 Club in front of our house and to bring your own chairs and drinks, because we didn’t really have anything in the house.” 

Unsure of what to expect, the Youngs invited two friends who were renting on Marco to ensure they’d have at least two guests show up. 

“I lowered the tailgate on my pick-up and looked up to see people walking to our house from both directions,” Young says. “At one point I counted about 35 people there. Nobody sat in their chairs because they were all milling about and talking. So, from that point forward, we’ve done it the first Friday of every month during the high season.” 

As the organizer of the event, Young coordinates with his neighbors to select a different house for each of the six 501 Clubs in a given season. He keeps the invitation limited to a two-block radius to avoid excessive parking on the street and an average of about 30 people attend each event. 

“We ask people to bring an appetizer if they want, and their own drinks,” Young says. Neighbors are welcome to bring outside guests as well. “We have a lot of visitors during the high season, so we see a lot of guests all the time.” 

Young says that the 501 Club has more benefits than just finding an excuse to party. It’s helped develop a sense of closeness and community in the neighborhood that transcends the event itself. He describes one couple in the neighborhood who were skeptical about the idea, but instantly saw the deeper value. They told me they went from just waving to their neighbors to actually stopping and talking,” as a result of the 501 Club, he said.  

During the pandemic, the 501 Club soldiered on, with some adjustments. “We’d have it outside, no appetizers,” he says. “We’d stand in the street, and attendance did drop dramatically, but we’d still have at least 10 people come.” 

After Hurricane Ian hit Marco in the fall of 2022, the 501 Club kept going. “We got such short notice to evacuate that a few of the 501 Club got together and decided to hang out and see if we could survive,” Young says. After the storm passed, “we had an impromptu 501 every night for the next week. Some had power, some didn’t. We were all sharing stuff, using each other’s refrigerators and freezers and stoves. We knew which neighbors needed help and which ones didn’t, so we all kind of chipped in where we needed to. We were a neighborhood again.” 

The 501 Club’s last event was Friday, April 5th and started sharply at 5:01, as about 30 guests attended with drinks and appetizers to share. No wild shenanigans, just good friends catching up one last time before many head back to their summer homes.  

“Strong friendships have grown out of this 501 Club,” Jill Young says. “We all now know neighbors we wouldn’t have known otherwise.”